A mum and boyfriend accused of murdering her baby were ''laughing and joking'' while the tot lay dying in a hospital bed, a court heard today (Thurs).

Abigail Leatherland, 26, and Thomas Curd, 31, of Forest Road, Watford are said to have poisoned tot Eve Leatherland to cover up a series of beatings.

The pair are on trial at Truro Crown Court charged with murder, manslaughter by gross negligence and causing or allowing the death of a child.

They both deny the charges and say they were not responsible for the injuries Eve sustained in the build-up to her death or the administration of codeine that killed her.

The jury has been told how Abigail's 22-month-old daughter suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs and a lacerated liver in the days leading up to her death.

A jury has already heard the pair were "wrapped up in their own superficial world of video games, TV, texts, selfies and Facebook" as she lay dying a few feet away.

The prosecution claims that at least one of the defendants was responsible for inflicting the injuries and sedating Eve with the fatal dose of codeine.

Yesterday, the court heard how Eve's arms, legs, and mouth were stiff after her mum rang 999 in October 2017. It was also said the young girl had no heartbeat when paramedics arrived at the house in Liskeard. In a statement the first five paramedics to respond to the call out on 5 October said they found Ms Leatherland crying outside the house and "borderline hysterical" while Eve was lying on her back.

Sean Brunton QC previously told the court Eve had "almost certainly" been dead for "several hours" by the time of the 999 call.

Giving evidence on day three of the trial was Derriford Hospital emergency department sister Sophie Brock.

She was working when Eve was admitted to the hospital in Plymouth on October 5, 2017.

She told the jury how the resuscitation department at the hospital had been pre-alerted by an ambulance crew that Eve was on her way via air ambulance.

When asked how Eve appeared when she arrived, Ms Brock said "she looked dead".

She added: "She was very pale and I noticed bruising around the nappy line.

''The bruising looked a couple of days old and there was also what looked like a splayed hand around the waist area."

Ms Brock described how there were attempts to resuscitate Eve but an anaesthetist was unable to open her jaw because it was so rigid.

Her limbs were also said to be very rigid as well.

Ms Brock then moved onto her interactions with Leatherland and Curd.

She said that when they were brought to Eve's bedside after being told that the outlook wasn't good, Leatherland initially seemed physically distressed, whereas Curd declined to sit on a chair and propped him up on the edge of the trolley.

Leatherland and Curd were then taken to the relatives' room where they were explained the process before they are said to have asked to go for a cigarette.

Ms Brock said: "The doctor asked for their history and Leatherland said that the children didn't see their biological father.

''The length of their relationship came up and they said they've been together a while and wanted a baby so had been to a family planning meeting.

"They told the doctor he (Curd) had only moved in at the weekend but they'd been together a while.

''They said that Eve had been genuinely unwell and that she was tired, lethargic and sleeping a lot.

"Tom explained that on the day he put Eve back to bed at 9:30am and Abigail woke up at 10:30am but didn't check Eve. The next check was five minutes before the 999 call."

She added: "The family friend Camille came in and they asked again if they could go for a cigarette.

''They came back smiling and laughing away to themselves and that frustrated me slightly.

"They asked for a cigarette again and I was quite firm and abrupt with them and said no. It was seconds between cigarettes."

When Ms Brock checked Eve again she claims to have noticed a bloodshot area to the eye, a condition associated to a non-accidental injury which she then passed on to the police.

Prosecuting barrister Sean Brunton, QC, asked Ms Brock about Eve's general condition and she replied that she was very slim for her age, was pale and had dirt under her fingernails.

Next to give evidence was specialist paediatric sister Charlotte Durrant.

She explained how she told Curd and Leatherland that Eve was going to pass away and how she remembers Leatherland, although upset, scrolling through her phone at the bedside.

Curd was said to be "very pale, agitated and shaky".

Curd and Leatherland deny the charges against them. The trial continues.